A CD to MP3 Maker is a very user-friendly CD Ripper, MP3 to WAV decoder and WAV to MP3 encoder for Windows 9X/NT/Me/2000/XP. You can save CD tracks into MP3, WAV, OGG and WMA files, convert MP3, OGG, WMA to WAV and WAV to MP3, OGG, and WMA.

Available online from thousands of sites, a CD to MP3 maker copies audio digitally - not through a sound card - which means you get perfect copies of the originals. In reverse, it also helps you burn your own customized CD from MP3 files. Moreover, it supports the free online CD information, which means you get the name of the album, name of artist, track titles and other such CD information online. Most CD to MP3 makers also automatically normalize MP3s (WAV, OGG, WMA) to a consistent volume level

What it is a CD ripper?

In very simple terms, CD ripper is software that enables you to take audio CD tracks and place them into audio files on your computer. These audio tracks can then be saved as WAV, MP3, OGG, or WMA files. This process is called "ripping".

These days, advanced CD rippers can convert back and forth between these formats. In fact, some CD ripper software can even record vinyl LPs and cassettes to create WAV, MP3, OGG, or WMA files.

Available on your friendly neighborhood website

Simply typing "CD ripper" into a search engine will bring up a wide variety of CD ripper software. Most of it is extremely user-friendly, as we said earlier, and offers numerous options, but you should obviously do some sifting before you decide which CD ripper software is best for you.

Things to watch out for

• Make sure the software is easy to use and the instructions are simple. You don't want to end up with great software that you can't understand.

• During your search, check out the software's editing abilities. Most CD ripper software programs let you choose the output format. This includes bit rate, channels, and frequency. The best software is the one that creates high quality files by digitally matching the audio bit for bit.

• As we said, high-quality software will also tag encoded audio files with metadata. The metadata contains information about artist, track number, song title, and album title. So this automatically goes into the WAV, MP3, OGG, or WMA audio file. Some software programs will even search the Net for album cover photos and insert this as a thumbnail image next to the file.

• If you are careful, you will find CD ripper software that can delete the silence at the beginning or end of tracks.

• Similarly, some CD ripper software programs will allow you to edit the songs themselves, so you become your own music mixer and arranger.

• If you still enjoy listening to music from a CD, a CD ripper can select your favorites to create a mixed CD. In fact, some CD rippers even let you rip audio tracks directly from a CD and burn them to a new CD, without having to save them as a new audio file.

Now that you are empowered to choose, go ahead and rip!

About the author:

Author - Matt Garrett www.LMG.Org www.MP3-to-CD.com